What is Organic Farming and it's history? Explain in long. At least 15 to 20 lines. plzz answer fast..
Answers
Organic farming is a form of agriculture that developed from a desire to improve soil quality and the environment, and from a strong rejection of the use of synthetic chemicals and fertilizers in agriculture. It relies on naturally-sourced fertilizers such as compost, manure, green manure, and bone meal and places emphasis on techniques such as crop rotation, companion planting. Biological pest control, mixed cropping and fostering natural insect predators are encouraged. Generally organic standards are designed to allow the use of natural substances while prohibiting or strictly limiting synthetic substances. For instance, naturally occurring pesticides such as pyrethrin and rotenone are permitted, while synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, plant growth regulators, hormones, and antibiotic use in livestock husbandry are generally prohibited. Synthetic substances that are allowed include, for example, copper sulfate, elemental sulfur and Ivermectin . Genetically modified organisms, nanomaterials and human sewage sludge, are prohibited.
Organic agricultural methods are internationally regulated and legally enforced by many nations, based in large part on the standards set by the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM), an international umbrella organization for organic farming organizations established in 1972.
Agriculture was practiced for thousands of years without the use of artificial chemicals. Artificial fertilizers were first created during the mid-19th century. These early fertilizers were cheap, powerful, and easy to transport in bulk. Similar advances occurred in chemical pesticides in the 1940s, leading to the decade being referred to as the 'pesticide era'.[8] These new agricultural techniques, while beneficial in the short term, had serious longer term side effects such as soil compaction, erosion, and declines in overall soil fertility, along with health concerns about toxic chemicals entering the food supply.[9]:10 In the late 1800s and early 1900s, soil biology scientists began to seek ways to remedy these side effects while still maintaining higher production.
Biodynamic agriculture was the first modern system of agriculture to focus exclusively on organic methods.[10][11][12][13]: Its development began in 1924 with a series of eight lectures on agriculture given by Rudolf Steiner.[14][15] These lectures, the first known presentation of what later came to be known as organic agriculture,[10] were held in response to a request by farmers who noticed degraded soil conditions and a deterioration in the health and quality of crops and livestock resulting from the use of chemical fertilizers.[16] The one hundred eleven attendees, less than half of whom were farmers, came from six countries, primarily Germany and Poland.[10] The lectures were published in November 1924; the first English translation appeared in 1928 as The Agriculture Course.
In 1921, Albert Howard and his wife Gabrielle Howard, accomplished botanists, founded an Institute of Plant Industry to improve traditional farming methods in India. Among other things, they brought improved implements and improved animal husbandry methods from their scientific training; then by incorporating aspects of the local traditional methods, developed protocalls for the rotation of crops, erosion prevention techniques, and the systematic use of composts and manures.[18] Stimulated by these experiences of traditional farming, when Albert Howard returned to Britain in the early 1930s[19] he began to promulgate a system of natural agriculture.
Organic farming methods combine scientific knowledge of ecology and modern technology with traditional farming practices based on naturally occurring biological processes. Organic farming methods are studied in the field of agroecology. While conventional agriculture uses synthetic pesticides and water-soluble synthetically purified fertilizers, organic farmers are restricted by regulations to using natural pesticides and fertilizers. An example of a natural pesticide is pyrethrin, which is found naturally in the Chrysanthemum flower. The principal methods of organic farming include crop rotation, green manures and compost, biological pest control, and mechanical cultivation. These measures use the natural environment to enhance agricultural productivity: legumes are planted to fix nitrogen into the soil, natural insect predators are encouraged, crops are rotated to confuse pests and renew soil, and natural materials such as potassium bicarbonate[29] and mulches are used to control disease and weeds. Hardier plants are generated through plant breeding rather than genetic engineering.